Vietnam Central Bank to Maintain Base Rate at 8% in August
The State Bank of Vietnam, the country’s central bank, said on Tuesday it will keep the base interest rate unchanged at 8% per annum in August.
This is the ninth consecutive month the SBV has decided to maintain the rate steady even though the country’s consumer price index is estimated to have expanded at the seven-year lowest monthly pace of 0.06% in July.
The refinancing and rediscount rates will remain at 8% and 6% per annum, respectively while the overnight rate on inter-bank market will be 8%, the central bank said.
Local banks have reduced deposit interest rates to between 11% and 11.2% per annum while their lending interest rates are popular at between 13% and 14.5%, or even at 16% on consumer loans.
Analysts said banks have found it hard to cut the rates further for fear of capital movement from banks to other investments.
They added that major banks have an excess of funds while smaller banks are having difficulty finding cheap sources of funds for loans because the central bank has limited lending on the interbank market. (SBV)
Vietnamese
